Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival

A kamakura is a hollow carved out from a mound of snow. This festival, in Yokote City, Akita, features more than 100 large kamakura and numerous smaller ones. Sizes range from small candle-lit lantern type kamakura through to ones that are large enough for a small group of people to stand in.

This distinctive Akita prefecture festival has been held for over 400 years. The small caves contain a small altar with rice wine and daifuku (rice cake) offerings to the gods. If you’re invited into a kamakura, you may also have the chance to enjoy some nihonshu (rice wine) and daifuku yourself.

This isn’t the only kamakura festival in Akita. Festivals in various locations allow you to see kamakura from the end of January until the end of February.

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